Mexico City Grand Prix: Ferrari 'not happy' with Red bull budget cap penalty

The Mexico City Grand Prix is unrecorded connected 5 Live and the BBC Sport website

Ferrari accidental they are "not happy" with the punishment imposed connected rivals Red Bull for breaking Formula 1's fund cap.

Ferrari racing manager Laurent Mekies said Red Bull's breach was "a important amount" and that "the existent effect of the punishment is precise limited".

Red Bull squad brag Christian Horner described the punishment arsenic "draconian".

Horner claimed that the effect of the aerodynamic simplification connected Red Bull's car "represents betwixt 0.25secs and 0.5secs of thigh clip - it comes successful from present and volition beryllium successful spot for a 12-month period".

Horner besides pointed to a enactment successful the FIA judgement that said had Red Bull applied the close attraction to a notional taxation credit, the squad would person exceeded the headdress by lone £432,652. This, helium said, reduced the overspend from 1.6% to 0.37%.

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But Mekies questioned Horner's appraisal of the nett interaction of the penalty.

In an interrogation with Sky Sports Italia, helium said: "We astatine Ferrari deliberation that this magnitude (of overspend) is worthy astir a mates of tenths (per lap), and truthful it's casual to recognize that these figures tin person a existent interaction connected the result of the races and possibly adjacent a championship.

"As for the penalty, we are not blessed with it, for 2 important reasons. The archetypal is that we astatine Ferrari bash not recognize however the 10% simplification of the ATA (aerodynamic probe allowance) tin correspond to the aforesaid magnitude of thigh clip that we mentioned earlier.

"Furthermore, determination is different occupation successful that, since determination is nary fund headdress simplification successful the penalty, the basal effect is to propulsion the rival to walk the wealth elsewhere.

"It has full state to usage the wealth it tin nary longer walk connected usage of the upwind passageway and CFD owed to the 10% reduction, connected reducing the value of the car oregon who knows what else.

"Our interest is that the operation of these 2 factors means the existent effect of the punishment is precise limited."

Mercedes squad brag Toto Wolff told Sky Sports: "Overall, it's bully to spot that determination is simply a penalty, whether we deem it excessively debased oregon excessively high.

"I deliberation what you spot is that beyond a sporting punishment and fiscal fine, it's besides reputational damage," Wolff said.

"In a satellite of transparency and bully governance, that's conscionable not connected anymore."

Mekies' comments travel those from McLaren Racing main enforcement serviceman Zak Brown, who told BBC Sport connected Friday: "If the FIA is to beryllium astir effectual and its punishments service arsenic a acquisition to others erstwhile rules are breached successful this way, the sanctions person to beryllium overmuch stronger successful the future."

Horner said successful an interrogation with BBC Sport: "For a 0.37% overspend, I deliberation a 10% simplification is beauteous draconian, that's worthy perchance 4th to fractional a 2nd of a season's development, has an interaction connected our show adjacent twelvemonth and makes our situation adjacent greater arsenic we caput into 2023. It's applicable from present truthful it affects adjacent year's car.

"Anyone who diminished that punishment is uneducated successful presumption of what the existent worth of it successful presumption of performance."

He added that the mislaid clip was "an tremendous handicap".

Horner said: "We didn't walk 1 penny of this wealth connected making the car spell faster."

He added: "The FIA person been harsh, they basal by their fund cap, it was important for them.

"I judge successful present drafting a enactment nether it, instrumentality the hit, show hit. We're going to person to enactment harder and astute wrong the clip we person successful the winter, which is our superior improvement time."

He rejected suggestions that Red Bull operator Max Verstappen should beryllium stripped of past year's title, won successful arguable circumstances astatine the last contention of the play aft a choky conflict with Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton.

"We consciousness we've been chastised enough," helium said. "We consciousness the nationalist slating we had done mud being slung by immoderate of our competitors is punishment enough.

"Time to determination connected - Verstappen is 2021 World Champion, our absorption is precise overmuch present connected (this weekend's) Mexican Grand Prix and trying to decorativeness the play disconnected successful a high."

And helium denied that determination was present an asterisk against Verstappen's archetypal title, won aft the contention manager applied the rules incorrectly during a precocious safety-car play successful the last contention of the play and successful a twelvemonth successful which his squad had breached the rules connected spending.

"Absolutely not," Horner said. "Last twelvemonth went down successful past arsenic 1 of the astir titanic battles successful F1 history. Verstappen was a hugely deserving champion. Inevitably determination volition beryllium partisan enactment connected either broadside but the world is helium did the job, helium won the contention astatine the last Grand Prix of the twelvemonth and 2021 is present confined to the past books.

"People volition take a communicative astatine the extremity of the day. I deliberation Max did perfectly thing incorrect past year. He won the contention just and square, arsenic a squad we performed retired of our tegument to interruption the domination of 1 squad that has dominated successful the past 7 years, thing tin diminish from what helium did past twelvemonth and that's evidently backed up again successful 2022."